After suffering a 3-0 loss to UNH in the 2022 America East (AE) tournament semifinals, the Binghamton men’s soccer team looked to flip the script — opening up America East (AE) Conference play against the defending AE champions and No. 18 ranked UNH at the Bearcats Sports Complex on Saturday night. After holding off several Wildcat attacks early on, the Bearcats looked for scoring opportunities in both halves but were unable to get on the board, as the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

“[UNH] brought the best out of us, and I thought we were up for the challenge,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco. “We were a little lucky at times and I thought we were unlucky at times during the game.”

Binghamton (2-5-1, 0-0-1 AE) got the ball into the Wildcats’ (4-1-2, 0-0-1 AE) box early on in the match, but quickly saw its defense get challenged with UNH getting off two shots in quick succession. However, the Bearcats continued to put pressure on the Wildcat defense. In the 13th minute, junior midfielder Diego Vargas got off BU’s first shot on goal that ultimately went out left.

“I thought our guys gave a great response in tonight’s match,” Marco said. “What a terrific group effort — team effort — and they really showed some competitive spirit today,”

The rest of the half saw UNH mostly controlling possession, with eight shots in comparison to Binghamton’s one. However, sophomore goalkeeper Jack Root and the Binghamton defense were able to keep UNH from finding the back of the net. At the end of the first half, the game remained 0-0 as both teams were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

“[Going into the second half,] I felt like defensively we had to do a couple of things better,” Marco said. “We weren’t very good defending back to goal. They were getting some good breakaways from us, when they spin us [in the first half].”

Within the first minute of the second half, the Wildcats got off a shot in the Binghamton box but came up short. Despite its opportunities, UNH was unable to take advantage as the BU defense kept the Wildcats at bay. Not long after, Binghamton went on the attack. After a Wildcats foul, graduate student midfielder Jack Green, took the free kick resulting in a corner for Binghamton. The ball was then crossed and headed by graduate student back Michael Bush, but ended up being saved by the Wildcats’ goalkeeper.

“We tried to get on the ball a little bit more in the second half,” Marco said. “We had more opportunities in the second half than the first half.”

BU picked up the pace later in the second half, securing opportunities from corner kicks. However, the Bearcat offense was unable to find the back of the UNH net, ending the second half with three total shots and no scores. UNH, meanwhile, continued to put pressure on Binghamton, tallying nine shots in the second half. In the 86th minute, UNH got off a shot right in front of Binghamton’s goal, but Root lunged to make a point-blank save to keep the Wildcats off the board. Ultimately, the match ended in a 0-0 tie as neither team could find a way to get on the board.

“It was amazing,” Root said. “[Junior back Carlo Cavalar] must have gotten five or six blocks, [the defense] had more saves than I did. It was great, they were doing their job, and up and down the field we all did our jobs today, and even if we don’t get a win, the results against a caliber team like [UNH] is something to be proud of.”

After an injury to graduate student goalkeeper Dylan McDermott, Root stepped into the starting role and played the entirety of the game, earning a shutout in his first career start for the Bearcats.

“I thought, notable performances, we had three really great performances outside of the entire team,” Marco said. “I thought [Root] in goal was outstanding, and then [sophomore midfielder Calvin Moe] and [senior back Joe Spires] were very good.”

Binghamton will hit the road to take on Hofstra before its next AE matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 26. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, New York.